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Fans arrive at Fenway Park during a light rain before Game 1 of the American League baseball championship series between the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

DETROIT — More games, more money, right? True, but that's a dangerous wish for club executives.

The cynic will say that the suits always want a postseason series to go as long as possible, because it leads to higher revenues. A four-game sweep in the American League Championship Series is less desirable from a dollars-and-cents standpoint than a seven-game set.

Major League Baseball and the TV carriers, FOX and TBS, have every reason to think like that. Red Sox chief operating officer Sam Kennedy said he does not.

"No, not at all," Kennedy said with a laugh before Game 2 of the ALCS on Tuesday. "It's funny, you'll hear people with the TV networks and at the league say, say, 'We're neutral, we're hoping for seven games.' I understand that — you maximize the audience, create excitement. But from our perspective, a four-game sweep in LCS or the World Series, or a three-game sweep (in the Division Series) would be just fine. Cause it's all about the long-term and next year."

Teams certainly do make money in the playoffs, although the breakdown and distribution of the revenue is complicated. The league runs the postseason — the games are considered "jewel" events — with some money going to the league, the clubs, the umpires and the players. How long the series goes also affects the distribution of money.

"It's a very complicated formula where Games 1 through 4 are different than Games 5 through 7," Kennedy said Tuesday. "So the revenues are split in a different way. It depends. At the end of the day, the postseason is not about near-term revenue windfalls. It's about longer-term baseball and business success."

Red Sox sponsorship sales for next year have already started, and Kennedy said they've shown an uptick. He's hoping for an increase in ticket sales and renewals too. A team's on-field success — or lack thereof, as was the case with the 2012 Sox — has its greatest impact in the following season.

"We need to sell (sponsorships for) next year now, because budgets are put together at this time," Kennedy said. "So (the postseason) definitely helps and it also just gives us an opportunity to extend something that is great.

"The goal every year is October baseball. We don't say that lightly. Fortunately or unfortunately, I think our fans expect that we're going to play in October. That's sort of the bar. And when we fall short of that, it negatively impacts your business for the following year. So in 2012, we actually had a decent year (from a sales perspective). Hopefully next year we'll have a higher renewal rate."